Throwback Thursday: Great Florida Shootout

This week’s Throwback Thursday celebrates the long running, Great Florida Shootout! Taking place this weekend on Dec 27-29 at Kissimmee Civic Center. Read on to discover the 32 years of this basketball tradition! Plus stick around to the end for a special coupon for the event!

The Rotary Club of Kissimmee founded its high school level tournament, the Great Florida Shootout, in 1981. Throughout the history of this event, numerous players who participated in the event have gone on to the NBA, including such players as Jason Kidd.

The first player to go on to the NBA from the tournament was the 7-footer, Stanley Roberts. He played collegiately for Louisiana State University and was selected in first round by the Orlando Magic. More important players from the Great Florida Shootout include Chris Jackson (later renamed Abdul-Rauf in the NBA), who broke all the shooting records of the tournament. Perhaps the most recognized player is Jason Kidd, who was the High School player of the Year in 1992 and Freshman of the Year in 1993 (California). Kidd played in the ShootOut in his senior year of high school.

Click the picture above to see the full roster of Great Florida ShootOut players who made it to the NBA.

14 schools from Florida have been crowned GFSO Tournament Champions. The full list of winners can be found below –

Thanks again for joining on this week’s Throwback Thursday. Next week we’ll continue our look at the First United Methodist Church. The tournament takes place on Dec. 27-29th at the Kissimmee Civic Center. For more information on the event, click here. As promised, you can find the coupon (and tournament bracket) for the Greater Florida ShootOut below –